Blackened Gold
by sevil825
Summary: A new cadet comes to the academy and problems arise. Original idea, no? It's better than it sounds! And it's actually original, but it's hard to introduce a person any other way. Enjoy!
1. Introductions

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Hercules or any part there-of. If I did, not only would I be rich, but I would be happy and keep the show going. It's a great show, even if it does occasionally drift from the show it's supposed to be the prequel of. Also, I would have all of the gang's numbers and I would be extremely happy!  And I would be in the show.

AN: The new character's language is Derul, which is different than Greek, so the people wouldn't know what she's saying. I put it in italics so you, the wonderful reader, could understand. Pretend it's subtitles. Also, taketi is chocolate. Just so you know. And all the names and such which aren't from YH are made up by me. They have no significance whatsoever except for Sreyemanel, which is my name backwards. It just sounded cool backwards so I made it her name. And it sounded foreign. Helingra is pronounced like Hell-ing-ra. Anywho, on with the story!

"I will get you next time, Herc." Lillith accepted his hand as he helped her up. Cheiron walked through the room, heading outside. "Where's he going?"

"Didn't you hear? We're getting a new cadet. Someone from another country." Iolaus said. "Bet you they don't know how to fight."

"Iolaus, you don't know how to fight." Herc joked. Iolaus lightly smacked Herc.

"C'mon, let's go see who it is."

Once outside, they saw a guy wrapped up in black robes with a cloth covering over his whole face except for his eyes, which were deep blue-green. He rode on a black horse and a white pony pulled a cart full of trunks and bags next to him. The guy hopped off the horse and walked over to Cheiron, who had his arms crossed in front of him. "Welcome to the Academy." Cheiron extended his arm. The guy seemed confused for a second, but extended his hand anyway. Cheiron did that arm-hand-shake-thing and asked Herc and the others to help him move his things to his new dorm.

"Yeah, he's going to need help with all that stuff he brought." Jason muttered.

_"No, I don't need any help, sir." _Everyone looked over at the new guy, who shook his head and slowly said, "No. …No help. …Sir." Herc and the others shrugged and left with the other cadets.

Later that day at lunch, Herc was walking over to the table with his friends when he saw the new guy sitting at a table alone with an untouched bowl of food and a bowl of chunks of something brown and scroll in his hand. "Hey, let's go sit over by the new guy."

"Herc, no. He's different and weird."

"So?" Herc walked over to the table. "Mind if I sit down?"

The new guy looked up from his scroll, which had alternating strips of Greek and some other language. "Go ahead," He said, standing up and taking the bowl and scroll.

"Wait. I-WE-"He glared over at the others, who walked over "wanted to sit and talk with you." The guy looked at them and quietly sat down. "Now, I'm Hercules. This is Iolaus, Jason, and Lillith." He said, motioning to each of them in turn.

"Sreyemanel." The new guy half whispered.

"Sreyemanel. Hi. Where are you from?"

"Helingra."

"Never heard of it. Where is that?" Jason said, leaning forward slightly and putting his arms on the table. Herc smiled, glad that someone else had joined the conversation.

After a pause, the new guy said, "_East._" Jason and the others looked confused. The guy moved his hand like he was thinking and then said, "East."

"Oh. Do you have a king there?"

Before he could answer, Iolaus piped up. "What is that?", he asked, pointing at the bowl of brown chunks. Sreyemanel pushed the bowl forward.

"Taketi. Food."

"Can I have some?" The guy nodded and Iolaus grabbed a piece, popping it into his mouth. "Whoa. This is really good. Try it, guys." They all did, remarking about how good it was.

"Who are you?" A large guy had walked over and was poking the new guy.

"Ian, what do you want?" Herc asked. Ian was a jerk who had joined the academy a few months ago. He led a gang of guys who were standing behind him.

"I just wanted to meet the new guy and to give him this." He punched Sreyemanel in the back, laughing as Sreyemanel fell forward, gasping for breath. Herc and the others stood up to defend him. Sreyemanel was visibly trying to keep from losing his temper.

"Ian, leave him alone." Herc took a step around the table, but Ian shook his finger at Herc mockingly.

"Ah, ah, ah. You know Cheiron doesn't want any fighting in the academy. Remember what happened last time?" Herc glared at Ian, who punched Sreyemanel again. Sreyemanel hit the table hard in the chest and gasped for breath. The gang ran around the table to help Sreyemanel, but he stood up and walked away, pushing his way past Ian. Ian began laughing and walked away as Herc and the others sat back down. Iolaus noticed Sreyemanel left his bowl of taketi on the table.

"Hey, Sreyemanel left his taketi. We can give it back to him and see if he's alright."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." They all got up to go find him.

"Why does he get his own room?" Lillith wondered as they made their way to the upper story, following the directions Cheiron gave them.

"Cheiron said it was a secret. But it's probably for all that stuff. Can you believe how much he has? He has more than I do, and I'm a king!"

"Yeah, but you live nearby. Cheiron also said the guy came from far away."

"Yeah, I was meaning to talk to him about his country and see if there's any way to work out a treaty or something."

"Oh, here we are." They stopped in front of a large wooden door and knocked.

"Go away."

"Sreyemanel, we just came to return your tak- your bowl." Herc said, looking at the empty bowl and then Iolaus, who smirked sheepishly. Iolaus had eaten the rest of the taketi on the way. The door opened halfway and Sreyemanel stood there. "Uh, here." He handed him the bowl. "Are you alright?" Sreyemanel nodded, took the bowl, and went back into his room, shutting the door. "Well, that worked wonderfully. He really likes us." Herc remarked, turning and walking away.

"He's a jerk, just like Ian."

"Shut up, Iolaus."

AN: Well, I hope you like it! If I don't get any reviews, I won't continue it probably. Well, bye!


	2. Problems

AN: Yay! People are reviewing this! Amazing! Well, here's chapter two.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Hercules. You all know that. I do, however, own Sreyemanel. Anyone who can accurately guess where I got the name will have my undying respect. It's not really very difficult. I really can't give you anything more than that. I'll probably tell you the answer in the next chapter, so hurry and figure it out.

Sreyemanel had been there for a week, and was doing pretty well. He was able to beat a few of the guys who had been there longer. He had a little bit of trouble with the style, and he would often switch to a different style in the middle of a fight. It was common belief that it was the style of his home and that he was switching to it out of habit, so it was excused. A few people were amazed that he was able to fight with the wrappings around his face, because were tight around his mouth and it was usually hard to breathe with fabric like that.

One day, he was put up against Herc. They were supposed to be doing stick-fighting on the log posts. It was an especially hot day and, as usual, Sreyemanel came in dressed in his wrappings, which, oddly enough, were black. Everyone expected him to take them off to be cooler, but he didn't. There were more than a few cadets who looked at him like he was crazy, especially since they were not wearing shirts as much as possible. He stepped onto the posts and took the regular stance. Herc had been standing with Iolaus, chatting. He came over and joined Sreyemanel.

They were fighting for over fifteen minutes and there wasn't a winner yet. Sreyemanel had switched styles a few times, apparently forgetting and then catching himself a little later. They were both getting pretty tired. Both were sweating bullets and breathing hard. Herc tried one last desperate move, ready to stop and relax. He caught Sreyemanel off guard, knocking him to the ground among the posts. "Well, that is enough." They both looked and saw Cheiron walk in. Herc held out a hand to help Sreyemanel, but he ignored it and stood up on his own. They were both still breathing hard. "Sreyemanel, this came for you." He handed the cadet a scroll, tied with a green ribbon. Sreyemanel took it, bowing slightly. "You two go get cleaned up. Practice is over for now." They both put up their sticks, and Sreyemanel was heading out. Herc caught up with him.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" He touched Sreyemanel's shoulder, who flinched away, but stopped and turned to him.

"Why?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I just want to talk. You're new, so-" Jason and Iolaus walked up, followed quickly by Lillith. "So I figured you would want to get to know some people. Make some friends." The others stopped, exasperated looks on their faces.

"Not why I came." Sreyemanel turned and left, leaving Herc and the others staring after him.

The next day, the gang was going to play some melonball when Hercules saw Sreyemanel sitting over under a tree by himself reading a scroll. He jogged over, much to the dismay of Jason, Iolaus, and Lillith, and stooped down next to him. "Do you want to play some melonball?"

"Melonball?"

"Yeah, it's-"

"Come on Herc, we're waiting." Iolaus and Jason had their arms crossed over their chests.

"No. Go them." He then stood up and took the scroll. Herc sighed and went back to his friends.

Sreyemanel sat in his room, reading the note. It was from his brother. Their mother was looking for them and had sent out men to find them. Their younger sister had gone looking for them, of her own free will. She would be here sometime next month, possibly. Sreyemanel was supposed to stay wherever he was and was supposed to wait for them. It was apparently getting pretty bad in Helingra, but they would need to wait to go back. Sreyemanel closed the letter and picked up the wrappings from the bed beside him. He laid the letter on the table by his bed and headed out.

"Hey, there's Sreyemanel. Do you think-"

"Herc, no. You know he's just going to get up and leave or something. Just give up." They returned to their food and conversation.

"Yeah, ok." He sighed. They still watched as Sreyemanel walked past Ian and his gang, who laughed and pointed at him. Ian stood up and grabbed Sreyemanel's shoulder, spinning him around. Hercules stood up instinctively.

"Let's see what you look like underneath this thing." Ian grabbed the wrappings and hood on Sreyemanel's face, yanking them from him with savage force. Ian's face became a mask of confusion and amazement when he realized Sreyemanel was- a girl! Her long brown hair hung in braids down to her thighs and a cloth was tied onto her head. Herc and the others didn't see anything else since Sreyemanel had her back turned toward them. Everyone in the room looked on in amazement as Sreyemanel kneed Ian in the groin, then the face as he doubled over. As his head went up from the force of the blow, she kicked him in the chest. He fell onto the ground, groaning.

"_Never touch me again_!" Sreyemanel spun around and ran from the room, pushing her way past an astonished group of guys. They all heard her footfalls down the hallway, but no one moved. She got back to her room, closing and locking the door after her. She leaned against the door, letting her head fall backwards onto it as she slid downward to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her head in her arms and couldn't help but start to cry. They knew. Now what was she going to do?

AN: Well, how do you like it? It's longer than the original way I had it, but I didn't want a one paragraph chapter. I hate those. Tell me what you think! Try to figure out what Sreyemanel means and tell me your guesses in your reviews. Bye!


	3. Consequences

AN: Well, HighonLife got it right. Sreyemanel is my name backwards. I'm glad people are still reading my story. I didn't think it would be liked at all. So, it's going better than I thought. On with the story! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not Young Hercules. Or anything referred to in the story, besides the original characters like Sreyemanel and Ian and the horses. I also cannot do any of the things talked about in this story. I wish I could. That would be cool. Sorry. I'll let you get to the story.

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The next day, Sreyemanel walked into Fedicious' classroom without her wrappings. Her thigh-long brown hair was braided differently than anyone had seen and she had a triangle of forest green cloth tied around her head. She had on a tight, dark green low-cut vest laced with black cord that showed a little of her stomach and black leather pants with a dark green sash belt tied loosely around her waist. She had dark brown leather knee-high ultra-high-heel boots and gauntlets, both decorated with brass, and an armband that had an intricate design in brass. A brown choker had the same intricate design, and an anklet over one boot. A pendant hung on a black cord and brass hoops hung from her ears. All of the guys turned and stared at her as she quietly went to her seat. She was lovely.

"I wonder why she's not wearing those wrappings?", Herc muttered to himself, staring at her.

"Herc, would you stop it? She's never going to like us and never going to fit in."

"Yeah. Jason's right. Give it up, Herc." Iolaus leaned back in his seat.

"Fine. I guess you're right." Sreyemanel glared at Ian as he entered and walked to his seat, still mocking her with his friends. "Guess Ian didn't learn."

"Well, class. I assume everyone saw Sreyemanel's little display yesterday. Because of it, she has been forbidden from wearing the wrappings. They cause too much… commotion." He glared at Sreyemanel and Ian in turn, who glared at each other. Fedicious ignored this and began his lesson.

Lunchtime found Herc and the gang seated at their regular table, talking and laughing. Herc saw Sreyemanel walking past toward the table. "Herc, no." They all knew what he was thinking.

"I'm not giving up." Herc stood up and ran after her, the rest of the gang following soon after. They caught up with her outside. "Hey, Sreyemanel." She turned around. "We wanted to talk to you."

"_What is with you and talking?_" She watched their faces get confused looks and then rolled her eyes and said, "Sure". They walked over to a low wall. Sreyemanel hopped up and sat on the wall as the others leaned against it.

They remained in silence for a little while as the gang thought of something to say. Suddenly, Lillith piped up. "Where did you learn to fight like that? The other day I mean."

"My brother, Kilako. Older."

"Do you have any other brothers?", Iolaus asked.

Sreyemanel was quiet for a second before saying, "38. And 24 sisters. And baby on way." Everyone stared at her in amazement. "I'm oldest girl." They continued to stare. "What?"

"How can you have that many siblings?" Before she could answer, Cheiron came out, telling everyone that it's almost time for the next class: fighting. Everyone had to come inside and get ready.

As they were passing Cheiron, he stopped Sreyemanel. "Not you. You aren't going to join the fighting class until you can control your temper."

"Cheiron, it's not her fault. Ian kept pushing her and-"

"I don't want to hear it. No fighting. I mean it."

"Can I practice in stable, then?"

Cheiron thought for a moment before saying, "I see no harm in that." Sreyemanel turned and went to the stable. The rest of the gang stared for a second at Sreyemanel and Cheiron before turning and going to class.

Fighting class went smoothly and at the end, Cheiron walked over to Herc and the gang as they were putting up their practice weapons. "Would you four mind going and getting Sreyemanel? She is-"

"Out in the stable. We know. Sure." Herc and the others finished and set off toward the stable, chatting and laughing on the way. When they reached the stable, they walked in casually. "Where is she?" Sreyemanel was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, they heard humming up above them and looked up. Sreyemanel was doing gymnastics on the rafters, humming a tune none of them had ever heard of. She hadn't noticed them and continued. The rafters were barely wider than her feet, which were now bootless. She remained mostly on the balls of her feet, flipping and spinning. Her pants, they now saw, stopped mid-calf and her hair was tied into a tight bun/ponytail that was still braided. They watched her for a little longer, before she stopped, striking a ending pose before dropping down to the floor of the barn, turned away from them. She calmly walked over to her horse, who whinnied at her as she stroked his neck."Excuse me." Sreyemanel turned sharply, the hair from her ponytail still long enough to go flying around her face. "We were sent to tell you that class is over. You're really good, by the way."

"Thanks." She almost whispered, looking down and tucking a loose braid behind her ear. She patted her horse a little more, whispering to it before pulling on her boots and following the guys outside.

After a long time of silence, Iolaus shouted "Melonball!" He ran over and grabbed a melon, racing back and lightly tossing it to Jason, who laughed and passed it to Hercules. They continued this until Sreyemanel caught it and just stood there, unsure what to do. Herc and Lillith laughed, shaking their heads as they jogged over.

"We'll show you how to play."

"Here." She passed the ball to Lillith, who stopped, and walked calmly toward the main building.

Jason and Iolaus jogged over. "We are never going to get her to like us. …Oh, well. Let's play some melonball!" They all laughed and started playing. Herc stopped and looked toward the building, noticing that Sreyemanel had stopped and looked back over at them over her shoulder. He smiled. Maybe there was still a chance that they could get her to like them.

AN: Well, thanks for reading, now please review this chapter. By the way, for those who wonder how her braids look, its double chain stitch in crocheting. It's doubled back at the ends. Her hair is really, in a sense, down to her thighs and back up to her head. The reason for this will be explained later on. And a lot of other things, too. This is the first Young Herc fanfic, so she is my first attempt. I will soon be writing new Young Herc stories, so please read and review them as well. They are my later attempts.


	4. Lessons

AN: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I was really busy with school and stuff. I hate school. But don't be offended, I wasn't updating any of my other stories either. This chapter is going to be short and simple and not very good if I do say so myself, but it's just the intermission between the old chapters and the new stuff. It merely needs to connect some stuff and not be too long.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story nor the show it is based on. I do own Ian and Sreyemanel, and the country of Helingra.

The next day they had no classes, so Herc and the guys went fishing. As they were headed back, they decided to go through the forest. They were laughing and talking when Lillith stopped and turned around. "What was that?"

The guys stopped and listened before Iolaus said loudly, "I didn't hear anything."

"It was probably a bird or something. Come on, Lillith."

As they continued walking, they became aware of the sound of talking. They headed toward a clearing and hid in some brush nearby. Sreyemanel was pacing back and forth in the clearing, reading from a scroll. A bag full of other scrolls lay nearby and a bowl of taketi, which Hercules immediately stopped Iolaus from going into the clearing to get.

She would read a phrase in some foreign language and then try to say it in Greek. She wasn't very good. Hercules and the gang looked at each other. She seemed to be getting upset. Suddenly, she threw the scroll into the bag, yelling in her language and punching a tree before picking it up and leaving, with Herc and the gang afterward. The tree had a huge dent in it.

At lunch that day, Hercules and the gang saw Sreyemanel sitting by herself again, once again being mocked and bullied by Ian. He laughed as he pushed Sreyemanel into the table, knocking off some of the scrolls on the table. They overheard Ian ask mockingly, "What is with you and these braids? Huh? You got something wrong with your hair?" Sreyemanel refused to fight back because she didn't want to get in trouble again.

Hercules couldn't stand it anymore and got up, an angry look on his face. Jason, Iolaus and Lillith looked at each other and got up quickly, intending to stop the inevitable fight. Hercules got to the table in time to see Fedicious walk up to the table, glare at Ian, and dismiss him.

"Sreyemanel, I would like to request that you teach us about your culture tomorrow for class. It would be good for the cadets to learn about you and your people."

"Uh, yeah, sure. No problems." She picked up her scrolls and stuffed them into her bag.

"Thank you." Fedicious walked past Herc and the gang as he left, looking at them with a questioning glance. They walked toward Sreyemanel.

"Are you alright?" Herc gently put a hand on her shoulder, but pulled it away as she flinched violently beneath his touch. She shuddered and tried hard not to look at them. She didn't want them to know.

"Yeah, Fine. Need go get ready for tomorrow." She got up and left toward her room. The guys stared at her leave before going to back to their table, Herc last.

AN: Well, like I said, it's not that good. But I hope you aren't too mad at me. I updated at least, that should count for something. Also, I would like to know whether or not you think I should write an SPD and an X-Men story. I've had them cooking in my head for a while now.


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